


Halloween

by andrewminyqrd



Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Almost late, Halloween, M/M, Neil is confused, what even is this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-01
Updated: 2017-11-01
Packaged: 2019-01-27 17:20:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12586856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/andrewminyqrd/pseuds/andrewminyqrd
Summary: Neil never understood Halloween, therefore he hates it. Why dress up as monsters when the world is already full of them?Andrew and the "monsters" help him understand a bit more.





	Halloween

Halloween. Neil hated this night. Neil never understood it. Why would you celebrate a night where people dress up in weird outfits that are not only unconventional, but also uncomfortable? It doesn’t make sense to him.  
Monsters exist everywhere, everyday. They don’t just come out one night a year to scare children and steal candy.

“Andrew?”  
“What?” Andrew responded, in his bored tone.  
“Halloween. Why do people celebrate it?”  
Andrew turned to him, his face emotionless. “For fun.”  
“How is pretending to be monsters and ignoring the real ones fun?” Neil argued.  
“Monsters aren’t real, Neil. Just cruel humans.” Andrew’s voice, ever so slightly shaking.  
Neil felt a pang in his heart, like someone stabbed him. Hearing Andrew’s weakness made Neil angry. He knew there was nothing he could do to change Andrew’s past, but what he wouldn’t give to be able to. Andrew deserved more, he deserved better. Far better than the world has put upon him.  
“Neil.” Andrew said, trying to get Neil out of his thoughts.  
“Huh?”  
“You were zoning.”  
“Oh. Sorry, I was just thinking.” Neil stuttered.  
“Stop.”  
“Stop what?”  
“Apologizing. And thinking.” Andrew said, staring him directly in the eyes.  
Neil wondered how to say this, “You don’t believe in monsters?”  
“Of course not. Now shut up.” Andrew rolled his eyes and looked away.  
For a second, Neil could have sworn he saw Andrew flinch.

“Who is ready to party?!” Nicky yells into the dorm.  
“Jesus, Nicky. Shut the fuck up!” Aaron called back.  
“What? I’m excited! Halloween at Eden’s is the highlight of my year! The lights, the guys the dancing, the drinks, the guys!”  
“You said ‘guys’ twice.” Kevin observed.  
“Damn right I did.” Nicky winked and flamboyantly spun around to see Neil standing in the doorway, looking confused. “You’re coming too, right Neil?”  
“I didn’t know we were going out?”  
“Of course we are! Andrew didn’t tell you?”  
“No..?”  
At that moment, Andrew walked in, eating a bag of m&ms. “Neil. We’re going out.”  
Neil raised his hands in the air, “Thanks for letting me know.”  
“No problem. Get dressed.”  
“What do you mean?” Neil looked down at his clothes. “I am dressed?”  
“No way! You look like you just finished practice.” Nicky complained.  
“Well, I kind of did..”  
“Neil. The bag on the bed.” Andrew stated, walking back into the kitchen without looking back.

Neil sighed, and shut the bedroom door behind him. He noticed the shopping bag on the bottom bunk of their set. He walked towards it and opened it.  
“He has to be kidding.” Neil thought. The clothes were all black, the jeans were skinny, and the shirt, had a small quote on it saying ‘I’m fine’ with what looks like blood smearing all around it.  
When he saw himself in the mirror, he couldn’t help but scoff. The shirt was tight, as he suspected, showing his scars slightly through the fabric. The quote making the shirt feel ridiculous. And of course, the jeans. The tight, black skinny jeans, hugging Neil’s ass perfectly. 

Neil sighed and opened the door, showing himself to everyone waiting in the living room.  
“Really?” Neil said. “This is Andrew?  
“Yeah, sure.” Kevin said, barely glancing up from his phone. Probably looking at Exy related posts.  
“Totally! He chos-“  
“No.” Andrew interrupted Nicky. His jaw clenching, his fists were doing the same. “Change the shirt. Now.”  
“What? Its funny!” Nicky protested.  
Andrew stood up from the windowsill so fast, the glass seemed to bend away from him in fear. His glare staring straight at Nicky. “It is not funny. Neil, change.”  
“Andrew?” Neil asked confused. “What’s going on-“  
Andrew stalked towards him, his face full of anger. He looked as if he was going to push Neil straight up a wall, instead he lightly touches him arm in a silent question.  
Neil nods his head, and Andrew fully grabs his arm and pulls him back inside the bedroom.  
“Andrew? Talk to me, what’s wrong?”  
He was pacing back and forth in the room, his fist brought to his lips.  
“Andrew. Stop.” He stopped immediately. “What is it?”Andrew looked at him, and his eyes looked pained.  
“The shirt. I don’t like it.”Neil didn’t understand, its just a shirt? “Why?Andrew’s jaw was so clenched, he was surprised it didn’t snap straight off his face.  
“I… I don’t like seeing you covered in blood.” Andrew muttered.  
Neil remembered the feeling he felt earlier, when he thought about Andrew’s past. Andrew was concerned… he was scared that he would forget the blood was fake.  
“Okay. Okay, I’ll change.” Neil quickly went to his closet and grabbed the first shirt he saw.  
He was attempting to shuck of the old one and slip on the new one, when he felt a rough hand on his bicep.  
“Wait.” Andrew’s familiar voice rung in his ears.  
Neil turned around. Andrew was looking at him as if the world was exploding, but all Andrew saw was him.  
Andrew reached behind him, and pulled something off a hook. He handed it to Neil.  
It was a dark navy shirt Andrew had bought him a few months ago.  
“Wear this.” Andrew’s voice seemed so soft, it was almost unbelievable that it was him.  
“Okay.” Neil hovered his hand over Andrew’s. “Yes or no?”  
“Yes.”  
Neil leaned in and kissed the side of Andrew’s mouth. “Are you good?”  
“Yeah. Good.” Andrew’s hand glided to the back of Neil’s neck and pulled him in, kissing him fully on the mouth. “Let’s go.”

 

The second the “Monsters” walked into Eden’s, the air was filled with the smell of alcohol and sweaty bodies. Andrew immediately seemed to come closer to Neil, just barely not touching.  
“1 am.” Andrew said over the music.  
“What?” Aaron asked.  
“The deadline. I’m out of here at 1, exactly. Be outside, or find a new ride.”  
“Whatever. I’m gonna go drink.” Kevin said, walking away. His outfit was nothing special, just a grey long sleeve and some jeans. Though, he did have a pumpkin pin attached to his shirt. Other than that, he was dressed like it was an average Tuesday. Neil respected that.  
“Andrew! Come on, let us have some fun!” Nicky complained.  
Andrew’s glare shut him up without a word.  
Neil studied Nicky’s outfit choice of the night. A ‘sexy zombie’ look, at least that is what Nicky called it. It was a ripped, bloody shirt and pants in similar condition. His hair was spiked up, and eyeliner covering his eyelids. He also added some fake blood on his mouth.  
Neil still didn’t understand costumes, but he had to admit, Nicky looked pretty cool.  
Nicky sighed, realizing he wasn’t going to win an argument against Andrew. “Fine, fine. See you at 1. Most likely.” Nicky winked and walked away.  
“Yeah, whatever. I have a ride.” Aaron walked away with a small wave. Neil knew he was here to meet up with Kaitlin, he wasn’t sure Andrew did.  
Neil followed Aaron with his eyes until he saw Kaitlin run up into Aaron’s arms, kissing him senseless.  
He didn’t understand their costumes.  
Aaron was wearing a skin tight black t shirt, a red and white bomber jacket with some number on the back, dark blue jeans, and black converse. Kaitlin was wearing a black off-the-shoulder top, and high waisted leather leggings, with red heels. Her lips matching the shoes, and her hair pulled up in a tight, curly ponytail.  
“What are they wearing?” Neil asked.  
“Huh?” Andrew responded, not knowing what he meant.  
“Aaron and Kaitlin. What are their costumes? It doesn’t make sense… they are just wearing black clothes with red splashes.”  
Andrew looked towards them, and rolled his eyes. “Grease.”  
“What?”  
“It’s Kaitlin’s favorite movie, apparently.”  
“How do you know that?”  
Andrew looked at Neil and then quickly looked away. “He said so… in the same room as myself.”  
“Yeah, sure.”  
Andrew gave him a death stare. Neil chuckled.  
They sat down at the closest empty booth, and watched the world running around them.

 

About 20 minutes later, Andrew broke the silence.  
“I want a drink.” Andrew stated, walking away towards the bar.  
Neil carefully followed behind him. When he arrived at the bar, Andrew was already talking to Roland.  
“Hey! There he is!” Roland called out. “What’s up, Neil?”  
“Hey, how are you?” Neil responded, mostly to just be nice.  
“Good, good. Dealing with some drunk vampires and santas.”“What?”  
Roland pointed to the other end of the bar, “Vampires and santas. A common costume around these parts.”  
“Oh.” Neil still didn’t understand, but had zero interest in the direction this conversation was heading.  
Roland slid their drinks over to Andrew. Andrew elbowed Neil lightly, and walked away to a corner booth.  
“See you around, Neil!” Roland called after them.  
Neil turned slightly and gave a little wave to him. Then continued to follow Andrew.

They sat down and Andrew drank his first shot in less than 5 seconds. He then handed one to Neil, saying nothing. Once Neil accepted it, Andrew looked away into the crowd of drunk people grinding on others, all of them dressed insanely.  
“I don’t believe in monsters, because humans can be worse."  
“What?” Neil asked, caught off guard.  
“You asked earlier if I believed in monsters. I don’t because humans can be worse than any imaginable creature.” Andrew repeated, making eye contact with him.  
“Oh.”  
“Stop saying that.” Andrew sighed.  
“What do you want me to say?”  
“Something… maybe nothing. Just… not that.” Andrew muttered.  
“Okay. I agree.”“Really?”  
“Really. I have seen what people can do. It’s not pretty.”  
“No shit.” Andrew shot down another drink. “Do you believe in monsters then?”  
“I said I agree with you.”  
“No, you said you agree that humans can be worse. You never agreed with me that monsters didn’t exist.” Andrew countered.  
“Fair point. I guess not, then.”  
“You guess not?”  
“I don’t know. I just, don’t know.”  
Andrew nodded, and looked down at the last shot on the table. “Let’s go.”  
Neil looked at his phone, “It’s only 12:13, you gave Nicky and Aaron until 1.”  
“Aaron has a ride, and if he does, so do Nicky and Kevin.” Andrew stood up, putting his leather jacket back on.  
Neil looked around quickly and noticed Nicky dancing like he was living in a 90’s rave, having the time of his life. He chuckled and scanned more, searching for the second Minyard. He found Aaron sitting with Kaitlin at a table with a drink in his hand. He was saying something to her to make her laugh. Neil smiled slightly, while he and Aaron had their differences, he was happy that those two found refuge in each other. He had an odd respect for Kaitlin, she never thought of Andrew as a monster. He scared her, sure. But, she never treated him anything other than her boyfriend’s scary twin. Neil grew to like her because of that. He talked to her occasionally nowadays, and found her presence quite enjoyable. He looked quickly to spot Kevin, but was unable to see him. He shrugged, Kevin could handle himself. He is stronger than he used to be.  
Neil shook out of his thoughts and caught up with Andrew, who was almost out the door.  
When he walked through the doors, the cold air hit him like a gun. He breathed it in, and felt automatically at peace. He noticed Kevin leaning against the Maserati already. The second Andrew unlocked the door, Kevin got into the back and went on his phone once more.  
“Not in the talking mood, I see.” Neil mumbled.  
Andrew looked back at him for a second then at Kevin and shrugged. “He’s drunk. He was out here puking.” Andrew glared at Kevin for a second. “if you puke in my car, I will break your fucking nose.”  
Kevin gave a thumbs up and leaned his head back. Neil could have sworn he felll asleep right there. 

Once in the car, Andrew barely looked around before speeding off to the house. The streets in Columbia were usually bare, only a few cars passing by them. The cars providing some noise, to distract him from Kevin’s light snoring. As Nicky calls it, his ‘Vodka Snore’.  
“You are doing it again.” Andrew said.  
“What?”  
“Thinking too much.”  
Neil chuckled, “Am I now?”  
“Yeah. You have that nose crinkle thing you do when you are thinking too hard.”  
Neil blushed a bit and noticed Andrew glancing at him every few seconds. “I’ll try to stop, then. Since my nose crinkle bothers you so much.” He teased.  
“That’s not what bothers me.”“Then what is?”  
“Not knowing what you are thinking.”Neil smiled and put his hand out, open on the console. An invitation for Andrew to connect their hands. Andrew accepted with a sigh, placing his hand on top of Neil’s, letting their fingers curl together.  
“You could always ask me what I am thinking. I’ll answer.” Neil admitted.  
“Okay.”Neil looked back out the window, looking up at the sky. The stars in Columbia shined so much brighter than near campus. The full moon shined down on the road ahead of them, on the car itself. The glow luring Neil into a sleep. 

The last thing he remembers is the feeling of Andrew brushing his knuckles on his hand, and then he was awake, in his bed with sunlight shining through the windows. He starts to move when he feels a hand around his waist.  
He turns his head and sees Andrew’s chest.  
“Sleep.” Andrew muttered into Neil’s hair.  
Neil didn’t respond, just covered himself in the blankets once more and cuddled into Andrew more. He noticed he was still in his clothes, but truthfully he didn’t care. All that mattered was Andrew’s body next to his, giving off warmth and comfort. 

Maybe Halloween wasn’t so bad after all.

**Author's Note:**

> Guys, I was working on this and completely forgot so it is almost late for Halloween. Sorry! It is currently 10 pm here, on Halloween. Apparently kiddos really like ringing my doorbell because it was going nonstop tonight, so I wasn't able to finish it up sooner.  
> I apologize for any mistakes, but I am in a hurry. I will reread this tomorrow and fix them then. But I hope you guys enjoy it anyways, and read it even after halloween.  
> (P.s, this is the longest fic I have ever wrote! Woo!
> 
> Happy Halloween, everyone!  
> \- Sara


End file.
